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Guess who’s back for a little Mid Week Tease?! That’s right! Me! 🙂 Welcome to Mid Week Tease, a new feature for sharing snippets of a new release, favorite backlisted title or a current work in process. Today, I’m sharing a sexy snippet from my first Evernight Publishing book, In Flames, which came out on April 25, 2013. I’m going to be honest, I HEART this story. As an author I think we usually fall in love with our characters and our stories, but sometimes we have those stories that just pull at our heartstrings. In Flames is one of those stories for me.

Set Up: Gracelyn Riley married a firefighter and she knew that came with some risks. But she never imagined herself widowed in her early thirties with two children to care for on her own. Her brother-in-law, Matt, has been the rock that has kept her from collapsing. As a fireman, Matt Riley had been at the scene when his brother was killed. Several other firefighters had to hold him back to keep him from going after his brother in the collapsing building. The last year has been difficult for Matt. His one saving grace has come in the form of his sister-in-law, Gracelyn. Her friendship has pulled him through time and time again. With the year anniversary of Chad’s death upon them, Gracelyn and Matt turned to each other for comfort. After being unable to deny their physical and an emotional attraction, Matt decided to put distance between them, until he saw another man showing interest in Gracelyn. This scene occurs after Matt makes a scene at a local bar where another man is flirting with her.

“What the fuck are you doing?” Gracelyn asked once they were outside. Matt started walking towards his truck in the back of the lot. She followed him. Once they reached his truck, she stood with her hands on her hips. The anger flowed through her veins. He had completely humiliated her. “What is your fucking problem?”

“I don’t like seeing his hands on you,” Matt said. He paced back and forth in front of her.

“We were just talking,” she said. “Having a conversation. What does it matter to you anyway?”

“You’re married,” Matt blurted.

“I’m widowed,” she shouted. “Widowed! That means my husband is dead. It has taken me a little over a year to crawl out of this depression. At some point, I may even entertain the idea of having another relationship with someone who wants to have one with me.” The look on his face showed he clearly did not miss the intent behind her statement.

“Fine. I just don’t want him touching you.”

“Why? Can’t I make that decision for myself?”

“No. I don’t like it.”

“Maybe I do,” she said curtly. Matt stopped pacing and stared at her. Gracelyn felt the heat of his stare. He stepped towards her and she instinctively stepped back. Her back pressed against the driver’s side door of his truck. He placed his hands on either side of her shoulders.

“He just wants to fuck you.”

“So what?” Her voice was defiant. She could tell by the look on his face that he did not like that response. “At least somebody wants to.”

“No one else but me is allowed to touch you, Gracey. No one but me!”

“Really? You told me that you can’t do this…that we can’t do this. We have to stop this. You have done nothing but ignore and avoid me for the last week. I’ve tried to let you know that I want to be with you, but you can’t even text me back or call. And now you’re telling me that no one else can have me either. Do you honestly think I am going to spend the rest of my life alone? You can’t have it both ways, Matty! It is unfair to me! You told me you needed time. I am just giving you what you asked for.”

“I told you I want you! I fucking want you! I want you so bad it hurts!” She felt his breath on her face. She stared into his caramel eyes and watched as the emotions flashed through them.

“Yes, you did,” she said calmly. “And in the next breath, you told me we can’t do this. Which is it, Matty? Can you do this? Or not?”

“Gracey,” he said. His breath became ragged. He ran his fingers along her cheek and across her jaw line. Gracelyn shuddered
at his touch. “You know I want to be with you. God, when I saw Jeremy with his arm around you, I thought I might explode. I’m not usually a jealous person. You know that. But the look on his face and his arm around you made me want to punch his face in! I feel like I am losing my mind. I’m sorry! I don’t know how to deal with this.”

“Deal with it as you have been, Matty. Run from it. Hide from it. Ignore me. Avoid me. Take your time,” Gracelyn said sharply. She put her hands on his chest and pushed him far enough away from her so that she could slide under his arm. “But don’t think that you can start telling me what to do and who I can do it with. I dealt with that with your brother. I’m not walking that path again. Have a good night.” She turned and walked back around the building and into the bar. Screw him!

Hope you enjoyed this week’s Mid Week Tease! You can find In Flames here:

[…] at him for embarrassing her at the pub in front of her co-workers. You can check out that scene here as it was a Mid-Week Tease back in August 2013. These two have struggled with their feelings with […]